Apparatus for punching holes in structural shapes



July 9, 1968 J. M. JORDAN 3,391,593

APPARATUS FOR PUNCHING HOLES IN STRUCTURAL SHAPES Filed Aug. 26, 1966 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 %M4M dag-54..

July 9-, 1968 .1. M. JORDAN 3,391,593

APPARATUS FOR PUNCHING HOLES IN STRUCTURAL SHAPES Filed Aug. 26, 1966 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V EN TOR. JOH/VMJOROfl/V Mi; .ezomgrzwb Hf TOR/V573 APPARATUS FOR PUNCHING HOLES IN STRUCTURAL SHAPES July 9, 1968 Filed Aug. 26, 1966 INVENTOR. g/ fl Afr/0 404 $434M ,JQQM 3770/?[6 July 9, 1968 J. M. JORDAN 3,391,593

APPARATUS FOR PUNCHING HOLES IN STRUCTURAL SHAPES Filed Aug. 26, 1966 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 July 9, 1968 J. M. JORDAN 3,391,593

APPARATUS FOR PUNCHING HOLES IN STRUCTURAL SHAPES Filed Aug. 26, 1966 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 O 22 4 o o o 6 i F 4 70 22 kg; 5 g u l o E S INVENTQR.

JO/f/V 1 rfafiofl/v United States Patent 3,391,593 APPARATUS FOR PUNCHING HOLES 1N STRUCTURAL SHAPES John M. Jordan, 1 Locust Lane, Loudonville, N.Y. 12211 Filed Aug. 26, 1966, Ser. No. 575,452 7 Claims. (Cl. 83-405) This invention relates in general to punching machines and has specific reference to improvements in punching apparatus for structural shapes, such as I-beams and the like. More particularly, this invention relates to novel punching apparatus for structural shapes, whereby the structural shapes may be more rapidly and easily punched by means of simplified procedures than was heretofore possible.

Prior to my invention, it was the standard practice for a punch operator to punch out holes in structural shapes and plates by constant reference to a detailed drawing of the structural member, the drawing having dimensioned hole locations portrayed thereon. Thus, the punch operator was faced with the task of accurately interpreting the dimensioned drawing, or a print thereof, locating the corresponding point on the member, and then mating that point or points with the punching members. This generally involved constant and repetitious movement of the beam, including rotation of the structural member about its longitudinal axis, depending upon whether a particular hole was to be punched in the web portion or a flange portion of the member. At the same time, the operator also had the task of frequently adjusting the vertical position of the working bed which supported the structural member with respect to the plane of the punch die, and then aligning the member with the punch at exactly the locations where the punching steps were to be effected.

Under the foregoing circumstances, it is apparent that the prior procedures required considerable manpower and an enormous loss of time in the positioning, adjusting, repositioning, and re-adjusting of the various elements for each of the many holes to be punched.

Also, heretofore, the die seats and related parts of such punching machines have been permanently fixed in position and it has therefore been necessary to move the shapes and plates relative to the punching members in order to align the work for punching a given hole. One feature of my invention provides for a convenient method of quickly changing the location of these die seats in either the horizontal or vertical direction, thereby opening up an entirely new approach to the task of laying out and punching the materials mentioned. Prior punching machines have been designed to punch in the vertical direction only. This has required that any surface to be punched must be moved to and held in a horizontal plane between the die and the punch. Therefore, in a beam requiring a series of holes in both the web and one flange it has been necessary to pass this beam thru a fixed punch two times, once for the flange holes and once for the web holes. By providing punches that can be conveniently moved relative to the work, however, I have found that it is possible to punch all holes in the same beam in a single pass, resulting in a considerable savings of time and expense.

Accordingly, it is an essential object of this invention to provide apparatus and procedures to reduce to a minimum the manpower and time required to properly punch a given structural shape or plate.

It is another object of the present invention to provide punching apparatus for structural shapes wherein the punching procedure is greatly simplified and the operator can work with a minimum of punching errors, which tend to greatly increase the cost of the total operation.

A still further object of the present invention is to pro- 3,391,593 Patented July 9, 1968 vide punching apparatus which may be accurately positioned to punch holes in structural members, thereby reducing to a minimum poorly punched holes, while eliminating the need for the complex dimensioned drawings which have heretofore been required, and which have been the source of frequent operator errors.

Other and further objects and advantages of my invention will also become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the invention wherein reference is made to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is an elevation view showing the general layout of the punching stations and feed beds according to the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a side elevationed view of the web punch assembly, taken along the lines 22 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of the flange punch assembly;

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of a structural member supported by the working bed, and showing details of the means for retaining the structural member in alignment with the working line of the punching apparatus;

FIGURE 5 is another perspective view, showing details of the web punching means;

FIGURE 6 is still another perspective view, showing thefeed bed and the details of the longitudinal hole-indieating means;

FIGURE 7 is yet another perspective view illustrating the operation of the flange punches of the present invention.

With reference now to FIGURE 1 of the drawings for a more detailed description of the invention, it will be seen that there is a conveyor-type bed arrangement, generally comprising a first bed, indicated by the numeral 2, for feeding the structural shapes to the punching stations and a working bed, indicated by the numeral 4, subsequent to these stations, for receiving the punched members. It will be noted that the beds are horizontally aligned with one another and are provided with rollers 6 upon which the structural members S are supported and moved. Adjacent to the end of the first, or feed bed 2 is the first punching station which comprises a web punch 8, which is supported for vertical movement within a carriage 10, which itself is adapted for movement upon wheels 12 set on the tracks 14. The second punching station comprises a set of flange punches 16 which are similar to the web punch 8 but adapted to punch holes horizontally rather than vertically. These flange punches 16 and 18 are hung and supported for vertical movement within the carriage 20.

As shown more clearly in FIGURE 3 the flange punches 16 and 18 are arranged one above the other and are secured within the carriage 20 so that both punches are moved vertically with the carriage 20 as a unit. Between the first and second punching stations is a control panel P by which the operator can actuate any of the flanges punches, as well as the web punch 8, as desired.

Referring now to FIGURE 4 of the drawings, it will be appreciated that the rollers 6 extend laterally across the beds a distance greater than the width of the widest structural member normally punched by such apparatus. However, it is undesirable for the lateral position of the structural member to vary across the beds and, accordingly, there is provided means for restraining the lateral movement of the structural member so that the member is held to a working line parallel to the longitudinal axis of the bed and is permitted to move freely in the longitudinal direction only.

These restraining means comprise sets of rollers which are mounted on top of the beds and between adjacent support rollers 6 so as to bear against the flange portion of an I-beam, for example, as illustrated in FIGURE 4.

As will become apparent hereinafter, with the restraining rollers in operation, the structural member need only to be positioned once on the feed and working beds for the punching of all holes in the web and one of its flanges. Accordingly, with the beam positioned, as shown in FIG- URE 4, 0n the feed bed 2, with the web portion horizontally disposed, there is a back roller 22 fixed in place atop the side member 24 (hidden from view in FIGURE 1) of the bed and adapted to bear against the outer surface of the flange portion F of the beam S. Another adjustable roller 26 is also mounted on the bed and is adapted to be moved against the opposite surface of the same flange. Although FIGURE 4 illustrates only a single set of rollers, it should be understood that this set is disposed immediately to one side of the punching station and that there is at least one corresponding set of rollers 22 and 26 disposed on the bed immediately to the other side of the punching station. The line which may be drawn tangent to the front of the back rollers is the zero line or working line beyond which the structural member cannot be laterally moved toward the punches. It will, of course, be appreciated that when the movable rollers 26 are then loosely tightened against the inner surface of the beam flange F, lateral movement of the beam will be restrained and motion of the beam will then be limited to longitudinal movement over the rollers 6. It will also be seen that the back surface of the flange F will then coincide with the vertical plane containing the working line.

As shown by FIGURE 1 of the drawings, there is an operators station which comprises an open area disposed between the adjacent ends of the feed bed and working bed. Standing in this area, the operator can conveniently reach all of the punch controls on the panel P and the levers and wheels which control the horizontal and vertical movements of the punch carriages.

As shown in FIGURE 2, the web punch which is of standard construction, is hung from a shackle type part 32, which in turn is supported by a double acting screw 34. The nut at the bottom of screw 34 is pinned, and the nut at the top is welded to the head piece of carriage 10. Thus, by means of a ratchet and pawl device 30 located the length of screw 34, the web punch 8 may be raised or lowered to the desired height by the operators movement of the lever attached to the ratchet. Parenthetically, it may be observed that it will only be necessary to adjust the web punch 8 vertically when the operator is setting up to punch beams with a different flange width than those beams previously punched.

The web punch 8 is also mounted for horizontal movement laterally across the working area defined by the adjacent ends of the beds 2 and 4, and this lateral movement is controlled by the hand-wheel 36. It should be noted that there is a scale 38 mounted on the carriage 10 and indicator pointer 40, which is movable by a cable and pulley arrangement attached to the carriage 10, to indicate the horizontal distance that the center line of the die of the web punch 8 has advanced outwardly from the zero or working time. Accordingly, the scale 38 is calibrated so that the indicator 40 reads zero when the center line of the web punch intersects the Working line heretofore defined, and also indicates the perpendicular distance in inches of the web punch from that working line as the web punch is moved laterally across the work space (or web, as the case may be) by the operator.

As best shown in FIGURE 2, a plurality of wheels 12 are mounted on the base of the carriage 10 so that the carriage may be moved back and forth on the tracks 14. It should be understood that the tolerances between the tracks and wheels must be relatively close, in order that sideways play of the carriage will be minimized. Movement of the carriage 10, through a drum and web system, is controlled by the clockwise or counterclockwise movement of handwheel 36 at the operators station.

The web punch unit 8 is hung otf center from the shackle 32 so that it can rotate or swing slightly forward, i.e., in the plane of the drawing, for reasons to be explained hereinafter.

As shown in FIGURES 3, 6 and 7, the upper flange punch and lower flange punch are generally similar to the web punch 8 in construction, except that the flange punches are mounted on the carriage 20 so that their punch axes are horizontally disposed with the die members 42 and 44 extending across the working line, toward the operators station. As will be seen more clearly in FIGURE 7, the upper flange punch 16 is supported by the carriage 20 so that it can be lowered over the upper flange F of the beam S, with the punching member to the outer side of the flange and the die 42 to the inner side of the flange, over the web. In like fashion, the lower flange punch 18 is also mounted on the carriage 20 to punch horizontal flange holes, but its position is inverted from that of flange punch 16 so that it may be raised so as to have its punch and die members disposed on opposite sides of the lower flange F. As indicated above, and since the upper and lower flange punches are vertically spaced and adapted to move as a unit, only one of the punches, upper or lower, will be in position to punch a flange at any given time. Vertical movement of the flange punches is controlled by the hand-wheel 50, and the carriage mount for each of the upper and lower flange punches is provided with an adjustable gauge stop 52, 54, which is pre-set to engage the beam web at a given height and above the web center line and thus provide a positive means of halting the upper or lower punch at precisely the same vertical position for a series of corresponding flange holes to be punched.

As shown best in FIGURE 6, at the operator's station ere is provided an indicator bar assembly, generally indicated by the numeral 60, which includes a longitudinal bar 62 bridging the space between the feed bed 2 and the working bed 4 which is supported in guideways for lateral movement across the bed frames. It should be understood that the bar 62 is entirely restricted to such lateral movements and may not move longitudinally. Securely fastened to the bar 62 are a pair of indicator pointers 66 and 68 which have their points extending inwardly towards the punching stations. It should be understood that the pointer 66, hereinafter called the web pointer, is positioned on the bar 62 so that its point is longitudinally aligned with the center of the web punch 8. That is, the tip of the web pointer and the center line of the Web punch both fall on a line perpendicular to the working line. In like manner, the pointer 68 is positioned on the bar 62 so that it at all times is longitudinally aligned with the center line of the upper and lower flange punches.

According to the present invention, there is also provided a longitudinal measuring member 70 which may be a bar, channel, tube or the like. This member 70 is provided, as shown in FIGURE 5, with a scale along the upper surface thereof which starts as zero, the zero being at the left-hand edge of the member, and running the length of the bar. Parenthetically, it should be understood that for practical purposes this measuring bar 70 should be as long or longer than the structural member to be punched, for reasons which will become apparent hereinafter. The scale on the measuring bar may be subdivided and marked in inches, centimeters, or whatever unit of measurement is desired. As also shown in FIGURE 5, the measuring bar is adapted to be temporarily attached to the structural member being punched, and this attachment may be accomplished by any satisfactory means, such as a simple U-clamp, or other locking means which can be easily connected and disconnected. It should be observed, as shown in FIGURE 7, that the height of their measuring member, such as the bar shown, should be such that the web and flange pointers 66, 68, may overlie the indicia-bearing scale so that the bar 70 can be moved longitudinally with the beam without obstruction from the pointers.

In operating the apparatus hereinabove described, the operator first loads an I-beam, for example, onto the feed bed 2, by means of a hoist (not shown). The operator may then manually move the beam S laterally across the feed bed until it contacts the back rollers 22. (See FI G- URE 4.) The beam flange F will then be in contact with the working line of the punch assemblies and may subsequently be moved longitudinally by manual or mechamcal means towards the punch stations. Before any punching begins, however, the operator must adjust the front rollers 26 against the inner surface of the far flange F so that the outside surface of the inner flange is held firmly agalnst the back rollers 22. Thus, the lateral movement of the beam is restrained and the beam cannot stray from the working line. Once set, the position of the front rollers need not be changed for a given structural member or for similar structural members.

When the left end of the beam comes adjacent to the web punch, and also to the operators station, the operator attaches the measuring bar 70 to the beam member, preferably aligning the zero mark on the bar scale with the flush end of the beam. Thereafter, the beam is ready to undergo all of the desired operations without the necessity for further adjustment of the beam, except for longitudinal movement thereof.

When the beam has been prepared as described above, the operator raises or lowers the web punch as necessary, so that the die of the web punch will be located approximately below the bottom side of the web. Parenthetically, further vertical adjustment is only required when the width of the flange on a subsequent beam being punched is diflerent than that of the beam for which the setting was originally made. At this point in the procedure the operator has formerly had to refer at great length and with much care to a detailed dimensioned drawing showing the proper locations on the beam of the holes to be punched. With the apparatus of the present invention, however, the operator need only be supplied with a list which instructs him to punch a given hole at a list which instructs him to punch a given hole at a point point X inches (or centimeters, etc.) from the end of the beam and Y inches (or centimeters, etc.) from the working line of the assembly, which, when the beam is in place, corresponds to the outer vertical surface of the flange F.

Accordingly, the operator need only move the beam 1ongitudinally to the left and, recalling that the measuring bar scale moves with the beam, he can determine the distance of the web punch from the end of the beam by referring to the position of the Web pointer with respect to the scale. For example, if the operators instructions are to punch a hole 14 inches from the end of the beam, he need merely move the beam to the left until the web pointer registers with the 14 inch mark on the measuring bar scale. At that point, the web punch will then be centered 14 inches from the end of the beam.

With the longitudinal position of the punch thus determined, and recalling that the gauge scale 38 measures lateral (i.e., perpendicular) distances of the web punch from the working line, the operator then need only turn the wheel handle 36 to move the carriage in or out on tracks 14 and thereby shift the web punch laterally across the web until the indicator 40 registers with the desired lateral dimension Y shown on the operators hole chart. At this point, the operator need only actuate the proper control of the panel P to supply fluid to the web punch 8 and make the proper hole in the web. If more than one web hole is desired at a given longitudinal position along the web, that is, if two or more holes are to be side-byside, the operator need only to move the hand wheel 36 to reposition the punch. Any irregularities in the surface or height of the web are compensated for by the ability of the punch 8 to swing or rotate slightly within the plane perpendicular to the working line. This ability to swing allows the punch to vary its vertical position to conform to that of the web, without necessitating readjustment of the screw 34.

From the above description, it should now be apparent to those skilled in the art, that when the operator desires to punch additional holes as instructed by the hole list at various longitudinal points along the beam, he need merely shift the beam longitudinally until the web pointer indicates, on the measuring bar scale, the proper lengthwise position. Then, a simple lateral adjustment of the web punch will quickly and easily bring the operator to the proper hole position.

As indicated hereinabove, the operator may also punch the inner flange of the beam and the web without rotating or otherwise shifting the position of the beam, except to move it longitudinally as aforesaid. As previously explained, the flange punches are quite similar to the web punch in basic construction, except that they have been rotated for punching horizontal openings in vertically disposed shapes. In the case of flange holes, the operators hole list will again, for each hole, indicate an X dimension from the end of the beam and a Z dimension measured vertically from the web surface. Parenthetically, it may be noted that for a given beam, frequently the flange holes will generally all be punched at the same distance from the web. Accordingly, the operator need only set the gauge stops 52, 54 once to halt the flange punches at the proper distance above and below the web, and he will be prepared to punch an entire series of flange holes. When the gauge stops have been thus set, the operator need only move the beam longitudinally, as previously described, until the flange pointer 68 registers with the proper X dimension indicated on the measuring bar scale. Since the flange pointer 68 is, in the same manner as the web pointer 66, laterally aligned with the center line of both the upper and lower flange punches, either one of the flange punches may be brought to the proper hole location by merely raising or lowering the flange punch carriage 40. Of course, since the upper and lower flange punches move vertically as a unit, only one punch will be in the proper position at a given time. That is, when the upper punch 16 is in position, as shown in FIG- URE 7, the lower punch 18 will be out of the way below the beam; then when the upper punch is moved out of the way above the beam as shown in FIGURE 6, the lower punch will be moved into position encircling the lower flange F.

Consequently, the punch operator may sometimes desire to keep, for example, the upper flange punch in position to effect continuous punching of the upper flange F. By successively moving the beam longitudinally in one direction or the other, he can punch a series of holes along the length of the flange without time delay in resetting the punch. Alternatively, he may desire to first punch a hole in the upper flange F and then, by raising the flange punches, position the lower punch 18 so as to be capable of punching the lower flange F before he moves the beam longitudinally to locate new holes. In either case, of course, the gauge stops 52, 54 guide the operator in the accurate vertical positioning of the flange punches.

It should be understood that from the above description the flange punches 16 and 18 are positioned so that the punch and die portions of the mechanism will pass to the opposite side of the flange F or F, respectively, as the punch carriage 20 is raised or lowered. It is not necessary, however, for the punches to be held perfectly rigid within a vertical plane, and it is desirable to permit the flange punches in carriage 20 to have a slight amount of lateral (i.e., in the direction across the working bed) play that will compensate for irregularities in the shape of the various beam flanges.

While I have described hereinabove a new and novel apparatus for punching structural shapes, and have disclosed a preferred procedure for utilizing the apparatus, it should be understood that the foregoing description represents only one embodiment of the forms which the invention may take; and it will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the foregoing description that various modifications and changes may be made in the precise means illustrated without departing from the spirit of my invention. Therefore, it must be understood that the scope of my invention is not to be limited by the foregoing illustrative examples, but is defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for locating and punching structural shapes, comprising a horizontal conveyor bed for supporting a structural member for longitudinal movement thereon, punching means associated with said bed and operable to punch a horizontal web of said member, means associated with said bed for restraining lateral movement of said member upon the bed, a longitudinal measuring member supported by said conveyor bed parallel to said structural member and adapted to be secured to said structural member for conjoint longitudinal movement upon said bed, said measuring member having thereon dimensional indicia alignable with corresponding longitudinal units of said structural member, and indicating means associated with said conveyor bed and laterally aligned with said web punch, said indicating means co operating with said indicia-bearing measuring member to determine the proper longitudinal position of the structural member with respect to said web punch, so as to locate a hole position on the web of said member.

2. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, and additionally comprising means for moving said web punch mechanism laterally with respect to said conveyor bed and said structural member, an indicia-bearing scale associated with said punch mechanism, and indicator means actuated by said punch-moving means and adapted to indicate on said scale the lateral position of the web punch with respect to said laterally restrained structural member.

3. Apparatus for locating and punching holes in structural shapes, comprising a horizontal bed for supporting a structural member for longitudinal movement thereon, first punching means adjacent to said bed supported for vertical movement and lateral, horizontal movement with respect to said bed, said punching means being adapted to punch holes in a horizontal web of said structural member, second punching means adjacent to said first punching means and said bed supported for vertical movement with respect to said bed, said second punching means being adapted to punch holes in a vertical flange of said structural member, means for restraining lateral movement of a structural member upon said bed, and means for indicating the relative lateral position of said web punch with respect to a surface on said restrained structural member.

4. Apparatus as defined in claim 3, wherein said second punching means is adapted to punch holes in an up wardly extending flange of said structural member, and additionally comprising third punching means supported for vertical movement with said second punching means as a unit, said third punching means being adapted to punch holes in a downwardly extending flange of said structural member.

5. Apparatus as defined in claim 4, and additionally comprising an extended indicia-bearing scale, said scale being adapted for temporary attachment to said structural member in side-by-side parallel relation, and pointer means associated with said horizontal bed and said scale, said pointer means being aligned with said web punch so that a pointer thereon registers with indicia on said scale which represent the longitudinal distance of said web punch from an end of said structural member.

6. Apparatus as defined in claim 5, wherein said pointer means includes a second pointer that is laterally aligned With each of said second and third punching means so that said second pointer indicates on said extended scale the longitudinal distance of said second and third punches from an end of said structural member.

7. Apparatus as defined in claim 6, wherein said second and third punching means are each provided with adjustable means for limiting the vertical movement of the punching means toward the web surface of said structural member.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,135,531 4/1915 Koehl 83-421 1,241,256 9/1917 Hawthorne 83517 X 1,926,576 9/ 1933 Beatty 83-405 3,141,367 7/1964 Keener et al 83-420 X WILLIAM S. LAWSON, Primary Examiner. 

1. APPARATUS FOR LOCATING AND PUNCHING STRUCTURAL SHAPES, COMPRISING A HORIZONTAL CONVEYOR BED FOR SUPPORTING A STRUCTURAL MEMBER FOR LONGITUDINAL MOVEMENT THEREON, PUNCHING MEANS ASSOCIATED WITH SAID BED AND OPERABLE TO PUNCH A HORIZONTAL WEB OF SAID MEMBER, MEANS ASSOCIATED WITH SAID BED FOR RESTRAINING LATERAL MOVEMENT OF SAID MEMBER UPON THE BED, A LONGITUDINAL MEASURING MEMBER SUPPORTED BY SAID CONVEYOR BED PARALLEL TO SAID STRUCTURAL MEMBER AND ADPATED TO BE SECURED TO SAID STRUCTURAL MEMBER FOR CONJOINT LONGITUDINAL MOVEMENT UPON SAID BED, SAID MEASURING MEMBER HAVING THEREON DIMENSIONAL INDICIA ALIGNABLE WITH CORRESPONDING LONGITUDINAL UNITS OF SAID STRUCTURAL MEMBER, AND INDICATING MEANS ASSOCIATED WITH SAID CONVEYOR BED AND LATERALLY ALINGED WITH SAID INDICIA-BEARING MEASURING MEMBER TO DETERMINE THE PROPER LONGITUDINAL POSITION OF THE STRUCTURAL MEMBER WITH RESPECT TO SAID WEB PUNCH, SO AS TO LOCATE A HOLE POSITION ON THE WEB OF SAID MEMBER. 